How Many Calories are Burned Doing the Lunge?

Lower-body exercises target the largest muscles in your body with a high-intensity workload. Lunging exercises performed while transferring your weight burn more calories than exercises in a stationary position.

Your lower-body muscles — the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes — function to straighten your knees and hips while keeping your body upright. Lunging exercises are compound exercises, working your hip and knee joints while using your body weight as resistance. When you perform a lunge, your lower-body muscles stretch as you lower your body toward the floor with your knees bent, then contract to lift and extend your body up.

Lunges are one of the most important lower-body exercises, the Bodybuilding website explains. Lunge workouts increase lower-body strength while shaping and toning your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. Additional benefits include improved flexibility and form for running, dancing and sports such as tennis, soccer and basketball.

Lunging is a high-intensity exercise. The Health Status website estimates that a 150-pound person burns 275 calories during a 30-minute lunging workout.

You can perform lunges without weights, or use dumbbells to add resistance. Exercise options include traveling lunges, stationary lunges, forward lunges and back lunges.